Blue Paradise, it sounds perfect doesn't it? We would all like a little bit of paradise right now! Phlox was very popular around the turn of the century but from the 1940's to the 1980's it fell out of favor for being too old fashioned. Many of the cultivars were lost and nurseries and breeders have been trying ever since to bring back even better phlox varieties.
In 1990 Piet Oudolf introduced Blue Paradise Phlox, a native plant from the New England area, thrives in zones 4-8, up to four feet tall and mildew resistant. It is a striking blue color and has a wonderful fragrance. I have several locations of Blue Paradise Phlox, mostly peeking out or through other plantings, such as my Knockout Roses and Becky Shasta Daisies. Blue Paradise blooms non-stop from June through October. The more you deadhead, the more it blooms, more prolifically than any other phlox in my garden. including David.
It is a preferred plant at Millennium Park in Downtown Chicago and it is certainly a preferred plant in my garden!
Dear Eileen, What an absolutely enchanting plant and, as you say, mildew resistant. This surely is a must plant for most people. I do like the way you have shown it in combination with other shrubs and perennials. It is most effective as a background to the rose.
ReplyDeleteThanks Edith,
ReplyDeleteIf you look in back on the second picture down, the phlox are in front of my Chicagoland Boxwoods.
I don't think I am going to try shaping than any other way but round! Topiary is sure an art!
Such a beautiful colour ... looks terrific in both those garden beds. You do have some lovely planting in your garden.
ReplyDeleteIn or out of fashion, I've always loved Phlox, and have always had it in my garden. Blue Paradise is new to me though - I'll be on the lookout for it!
ReplyDeleteIt is a little difficult to find, not at Home Depot yet. I have seen it at the Growing Place in Naperville. It is probably at many more of the local garden centers.
ReplyDeleteEileen
Beautiful selection of phlox. What would a garden be without it? ;) We have two varieties in our flower beds and absolutely adore them.
ReplyDeleteDi, your spring is looking beautiful! I wish I could say the same for ours. But tomorrow is March and we are getting closer.
ReplyDeleteEileen
True blue and beautiful, Eileen. Have you seen 'orange perfection' phlox ? Good companion to the blue and also mildew resistant. I also love the bi-colored 'peppermint twist'.
ReplyDeleteThe red, white and blue composition of Knockout Rose, Shasta and Phlox is very effective. Many of us are happy to have found a rose bush that can double as a perennial.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteYes, I do have Orange Perfection. I had it planted in front of Franz Schubert and it wasn't doing well. I moved it last fall so it has more room. So we will see if it comes back. I think you are right, it would look better with the blue rather than the light lilac tone of Franz. I will have to look for Peppermint Twist.
Eileen
I can't imagine a garden without phlox, Eileen! Thank goodness for all the new mildew resistant varieties ... your Blue Paradise is a beauty!
ReplyDeleteI am one gardener who loves phlox and it is stuck around in several of my garden beds. The fragrances that some of them give off is just wonderful. It may be an old fashioned flower like hollyhocks and sweetpeas but I love them all. I have saw the Blue Paradise in Nursery catalogs and wondered if it was blue or purple.It appears that it may be more toward the purple side of the blues. Love those daisies!
ReplyDeleteLona, Blue Paradise tends more to the blue side rather than purple. The true color is closer to the one with the Becky Daisies and the one in front with the daylilies and boxwood.
ReplyDelete